The effects of digitalisation on women's employment: The case of banking sector

The effects of technological transformation on production and the labour market are considerably comprehensive. Information technologies and digitalization have led to an extended transformation in working life and the emergence of new business lines, professions, skills, and working methods. Keeping up with technology poses different challenges for different segments of society. Various factors such as geography, education level, profession, sector, age, and gender affect the ability to adapt to and use technology. While technological change has contributed to women's participation in the workforce from time to time throughout the historical process, it has also affected the concentration of women's employment in certain professions and sectors or in keeping women in the background in working life as a result of gender norms. Nowadays, the banking sector where qualified female labour is employed, is among the sectors where digitalization is used extensively and is most affected by technological change. Digitalization has caused changes in the functioning and employment structure of the banking sector in Turkey, as well as all over the world. In this study, the effects of digitalization on women's employment in the Turkish banking sector are examined by applying a mixed method. Within the scope of quantitative research, a survey was applied to 412 bankers and in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 people within the scope of qualitative research. The findings show that employment in the banking sector will decrease with digitalization; however, digitalization has positive effects on women's employment. In this contex, it was found that women are successful in adapting to technology; and digitalization and remote working have a more positive impact on women's work- life balance than men. In addition, digitalization reduces the importance of gender in banking and thus leads to a less gendered division of labour and aesthetic labour becomes less prominant. With the help of digital systems, women can move up the career ladder in an atmosphere free of gender discrimination, with a more objective evaluation of work and employee performance. Keywords: Digitalization, gender, women employment, work-life balance, banking sector, Türkiye.